Maximizing high primings?

[SmokesAhoy]

I don't really like the lugs or first primings anymore. If I only want the middle leaves on up, would it be better to prime the lowest leaves and discard ASAP, or leave them to tatter?

I was thinking about it and on one hand I could see the additional leaves working to give nutrients to the plant, but then I thought maybe if I removed them entirely right away the plant would send all the nutrients it did get into the upper leaves. Has anyone pondered this before or tested?

In Spanish, viso is the lowest I want to have, so that would entail discarding the bottom 1/3rd or so I guess.

My room for color curing is limited, and the window of time to do it is short. In previous grows the bottom priming's took too much time and space for my limited appreciation of them, I'd rather have everything ready to roll for the upper leaves, and at the end be able to harvest just the top stalk with the last 4-5 leaves right before first frost.

And it will be my first year with a kiln, is it possible to kiln them green with a wide open vent? Would it color cure or make spinach?

 

[Knucklehead]

One thing I noticed this year by leaving the mudlugs on the plant until I topped them, was that they did a great job of shading out grass and weeds directly under the plant (and smothered them once they turned brown and lay down on the ground). The previous two years I had taken them off as soon as they were brown, thinking it would act like topping and send that energy to the big leaves. I couldn't tell enough of a difference to know.

DGBAMA has color cured in his kiln. You definitely need the vent open.

 

[deluxestogie]

A study of priming (I can't find the reference) demonstrated that removing more than 6 to 8 leaves from the bottom, early on, decreased the "value" of the total crop, since some of the lost value of the lugs was not entirely made up by the greater value of the improved upper leaves. I have never really noticed a boost to higher leaves, when those below are primed, but I have not done any measurements of that. My suggestion would be to allow all the leaves to grow, and simply discard as many lower ones as you like, priming at a typical pace.

If you top the plants early, and at a lower leaf count than you would normally accept, those leaves will grow larger, stronger, and mature earlier. Then you would need to discard fewer bottom leaves, and perhaps be happier with the size and quality of the remaining leaf. Most of my cigar varieties are topped at about 20 leaves. If you top at, say 14 leaves, that might address your preferences.

If you run a well ventilated kiln at no higher than ~100ºF, it will (just like the yellowing phase of a flue-cure) yellow the leaves in 2 to 5 days. Once they are yellow, you can bring them indoors, and allow them to dry as rapidly as you want. The only real advantage, which might be the prime advantage for Vermont, is that this can be going on while it's freezing outside. If you save this kiln space for a crash harvest just before the first frost, it would likely salvage a kiln-full of leaf that would otherwise be lost to frost.

Kiln green leaf at over 104ºF, and you likely will make spinach.

Bob

 

[SmokesAhoy]

Thank you guys, this will be helpful.

 

[DGBAMA]

Kiln is invaluable for getting that late harvest in. My target is 100deg 75% rh, until yellowed, then it can dry as fast as you want.

 

[Jack in NB]

One thing I've been doing is to remove any top leaves smaller than 6" around Sept 1 (along with the continuing sucker patrols).

That gives the remaining leaves 3 - 5 weeks to reach a more useable size before our frost nails the plants. Your frost in Vermont might be a week or two later. . .

 

[SmokesAhoy]

Wow your first frost date is in October? Mine is in 5 days, normally, not this year likely, but that's only because I have no tobacco growing.

 

[deluxestogie]

...only because I have no tobacco growing.

Human-caused climate change!

One thing I've been doing is to remove any top leaves smaller than 6"...

Those little tip leaves at the top of the plant make some of the most intense blending components for cigars. They often kiln to a deep, thick, oscuro that doesn't burn worth a hoot, but in small proportions can dramatically alter the character of a filler blend. Seems a pity to waste them. But if you don't have time for them to approach maturity, they're lost anyway.

Bob

 

[Smokin Harley]

A proper cigar blends needs 3 things aside from binder and wrapper- ligero(or viso), seco and volado ...One for strength , one for burn , one for aroma...if you only have the upper leaf positions(viso or ligero) I think you would have burn issues and something if it does burn , you'll probably need to be sitting down for the entire performance.
Thats like saying I want to make a cake and not put anything it in but chocolate ,vanilla and butter ...putting all the flavor in it and avoiding the essential other ingredients ,even though they add little to no flavor, lacks body and function. Just won't work right.